Assessing plastic and adhesive-related oligomers (PAROs) exposure through consuming multilayer plastic food packaged food

Multilayer plastic packaging (MLPP) is a new type of packaging which has gained popularity in recent years and is predicted to continue growing in the next 10 years. Unlike traditional plastic packaging, MLPP contains several layers made from different materials and combined with the aid of adhesives and heat. It provides a lot of convenience to the consumers and has gained its popularity quickly in baby food packaging products. While this type of material provides a better solution for food packaging, previous research pointed out the concern that migrants from this type of packaging have increased types and complexity. This is a more sever concern for infants considering their bodies are still under development and their diet are simpler.

This project aims to use a combination of suspect and non-target screening to identify potential chemical migrants from MLPP. Two different types of MLPP, breastmilk pouches and puree pouches are being screened using a combination of real food and food simulants. Our results indicate that PAROs widely exist in MLPP, but the enzymes within the human breastmilk have the capability of transforming the PAROs. Furthermore, despite simulants can largely help simply the work flow of PAROs identification, our results indicate that it can not fully represent the migration happening with real food matrices.

Please note this is a Student PhD Progress review presentation by Ken Tang.